Credit Card Ban & More China Fears – Bitcoin’s Value Plummets

Cryptocurrency Blacklisted by Major US and UK Banks

Transactions involving digital currencies have been blacklisted by the Citigroup, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and Lloyds. This is after Discover and Capital One disallowed the use of their cards for cryptocurrency transactions.

Though the companies haven’t revealed any official reasoning, it is possible that the difficulty in tracing cryptocurrency could be the cause. Cryptocurrencies are hard to monitor, making them a potential tool for money laundering. However, Betty Riess of the Bank of America says that their clients can still use their debit cards for making such transactions, but not their credit cards. It was just last month that banks in Australia froze accounts used for cryptocurrency transactions.

China to Totally Eradicate Cryptocurrency

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China wants to block all cryptocurrency transactions in efforts to minimize financial risk. The government confirmed that their previous attempts at entirely shutting down cryptocurrency exchanges have failed. They are continuing their mission to eliminate all local and international crypto platforms.

Following the stricter implementation, cryptocurrency ads were removed from Baidu, China’s equivalent of Google. Weibo, the country’s leading social network, is also free from crypto ads. Experts are still optimistic that this won’t affect the market’s global health.

South Korea Accuses North of Stealing Cryptocurrency Worth Billions

South Korea says that the North had stolen cryptocurrency from them last year, and is estimated to be worth billions of won (1 billion won is $917,400). But even this wasn’t enough for the Hermit Kingdom, as they’re trying to steal more through email hacking. As of now, the South Korean government remains secretive about the whereabouts of the hacked exchanges. Nevertheless, they’re trying their best to ensure this won’t happen again.

Bitcoin’s Value Plummets Even Further

Bitcoin’s value has just reached a two month low. It may have bottomed out around $6,500.

The investors who speculated on Bitcoin during Christmas crypto hysteria could be to blame. Many of the users who entered the market at the recent highs are reportedly selling their Bitcoin due to its instability.

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